It’s Okay to Fail

March 15, 2014 by journeyintolight

I hate to fail. I am also afraid to fail. I have been trained to think and feel that I am less important when I fail.

As a result, I have been reluctant to take big risks. My perceived worth is too tied up with getting good results. If I fail, I will struggle with a loss of self-esteem. So I usually play it safe.

But this is wrong!

This is not true!

This is not how God sees us when we fail. He sees us as “precious”, win or lose. “You are precious” (Isaiah 43:4).

We often rely on the lie that our importance depends on success and meeting some artificial standard.  But it doesn’t.

Our importance is a gift from God, and not something we earn through success.

We are so important to God that he died for us (John 3:16). Failure can’t diminish our importance to him. We are free to fail and not be diminished in any way in God’s eyes. He still values us, accepts us, and loves us the same. “[Nothing] shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:39).

So, I have begun to take risks over the last few years. I have stuck my neck out and tried, although failure was a strong possibility.

I have written a book because I believed God wanted me to. “But God, I have not been trained to write. I was trained to be an engineer.”

I went to seminary at 60 years old because God wanted me to. “But God, what am I suppose to do with a degree in my retirement years?”

I started a ministry to help people to connect to God in a deeper way. “But God, people may reject the teachings and you know how sensitive I am to criticism and failure.

By accepting our importance as a gift from God, we become freer to try and sometimes fail. We rely on our importance as something God gives us and not something we earn. “He who did not spare his own son but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Yes, it hurts to fail. We feel disappointed when others think less of us, or we think less of ourselves for not meeting some goal of ours. But know that God does not think less of us. “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Even when we do God’s will we can fail. Jeremiah was known as “The Weeping Prophet.” His ministry was a big failure. The people would not listen to his words.

But did he fail?

I don’t think so. He did what God wanted him to do. And he suffered for it. He probably did not feel very important at times.

Like Jeremiah, if we fail while obeying God, we have not failed. We have not been diminished. We have not lost a thing of true importance. “You are precious in My sight,.. You are honored and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4).

And if we fail while disobeying God, we have not failed to be important, or accepted or loved. We may be disciplined. “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines” (Hebrews 12:6).

We have been blessed “with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3). One of these blessings is that we can fail and still be okay.

Posted in Worth | Leave a Comment »

Are You Living in the Desert?

March 7, 2014 by journeyintolight

In some ways I am.

I am between two church homes. Nearly two years ago, God led me to leave a church that I had been active in for 31 years.

I had grown accustomed to its traditions and values. I had gotten used to being a respected leader. I had grown to like being needed. I felt like I was a part of a small community, surrounded by cousins, nephews, nieces, and like-minded friends who were living life together with me.

And now it was gone!

Gone was experiencing a lot of respect from others. Gone were many of my friends that I lived life with. Gone were the church traditions and structure that I had grown used to. Gone was the sense that I was much needed.

I felt like I was living in a desert.

When we lose a church, a job, a relationship, our health or anything important to us we can feel dry and empty. We can feel pain and wonder where God is in this desert.

Yet, this can be a great opportunity to grow!

We often become overly dependent on our comfortable circumstances instead of relying on God. We can rely on traditions and structure too much to feel safe instead of,  “[I] am your refuge and your strength” (Psalm 46:1, NAS).

We can rely too much on the approval of friends instead of the approval of God. “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me” (Psalm 27:10, NIV).

We can depend too much on being needed by others to feel important, instead of, “You are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4, NAS).

In the desert, these idols will do us no good.

We are stuck in our pain of feeling scared, of not feeling as approved of, and not feeling as significant.

What are we to do? Redouble our efforts to fulfill our needs in the next church? Or follow Jeremiah’s counsel:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:5, NAS).

The desert gives us an opportunity to turn to God in a deeper way to meet the needs that we were meeting through idols. Idols can be people’s approval, worth through being needed, and clinging to traditions and structures.

God promises to come through for us in the desert. Listen to what he promises:

“Blessed [are you] who trusts in [Me], whose confidence is in [Me]. [You] will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV).

So, have you lost something important in your life? Are you living in the desert? Ask God to help you to trust him to provide for your needs that are not getting met because you are living in the desert. “I do believe, help me in my unbelief” (Mark 9:24, NAS).

Posted in False Gods | Leave a Comment »

Living Deeply with God

February 25, 2014 by journeyintolight

“Living with God is relaxing, for there is no fear of being hurt. We feel safe to be imperfect.

“Even in the face of our flaws, God delights in us and thinks that we are special. He likes who we are and wants us to live that way. He wants us to be real with him and our self. He does not pressure us to be different. He provides space to be us.

“God has expectations, but he trusts in us enough to not tell us what they are.

“Yet, we know and follow his expectations, out of love and respect for him and his expectation that we will obey.

“We may say to our self, “I don’t get it. I don’t have to be good and strong to be liked, loved, and special here. I don’t get it, but I sure like it!” (Hebrews 10:14).

“We feel respected by him. He delights in us. He wants to hang out with us.

“There is no “evil eyeball” of judgment coming from him. The only looks we get are looks of love.

“His warm smile melts the cold fear in us down to our bones (1 John 4:18). Rejection is not even a possibility with him. He completely loves, respects, and accepts us (Isaiah 43:4).

“We have fun being around him. We are free to do what we want to do. I choose to do a lot of fishing and growing fruits and vegetables.

“There is a great deal of laughter being with him and our brothers and sisters in the faith. We share much love and joy with God and our family in the faith around mealtimes.

“At times, we may feel that we need a hug or an encouraging word. God, is our “very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1), and is always there to respond to our needs. He never pressures, or forces himself on us, but just waits for us to come to him.

“God always treats us gently and tenderly. “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). We feel protected and supported living with him.

“It is quiet and peaceful most of the time. There is plenty of space to discover who we really are, what we like to do, and what we are good at.

“At other times, the air is filled with warmth, laughter, and joy, especially when our brothers and sisters in the faith are there. At one point I said to myself, “Life is good in this place. I am sure glad I live here!” In response, God noted that heaven was like this, but much better.”

The above is what I imagined four years ago on a retreat using Scripture, my memory of living in my Grandma’s house as a child, and the help of the Holy Spirit. This is my picture of what it looks like to live with God in a deep way here on earth.

May I encourage you to ask God to help you use your imagination, the Scriptures, and your memory to imagine what the experience of living with God in a deep way looks like for you.

 

Posted in God's Presence | 2 Comments »

Does Knowing the Truth Help You?

February 22, 2014 by journeyintolight

I know the truth that God helps, guides, strengthens and upholds me all the time. I even memorized a verse that promises all of this help (Isaiah 41:10). But it dawned on me the other night as I faced a situation experiencing much fear that this truth was not helping me one bit.

I realized in a fresh way that God does not want me to just know the truth. He also wants me to trust it (Hebrews 11:6). But what happens if it isn’t true and I fall flat on my face?

God says for us not to be fooled. “Don’t think that listening to a sermon does you one bit of good unless you rely on the truth I tell you through the pastor” God says to us in James 1:22.

However, the problem is that we have a whole collection of idols we already rely on instead of God to meet our needs. Idols like our understanding, our achievements, people’s approval, and good circumstances.

Some of you may say, “But the Bible says that the truth shall set us free.” But God’s response is that we are only set free when we rely on the truth (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Look at the mess that Israel made of their lives in the desert by simply knowing the truth but not relying on it. God said,  “Follow Me and I will give you the Promised Land” in Numbers 13. But they refused to rely on this truth and chose to lean on their own understanding- and the consequences were tragic. None of them experienced the Promised Land (Numbers 14:22-23).

We also lose God’s blessing when we refuse to rely on the truth that we know.

So, how do we rely on the truth?

It is often hard. God says “Pound on a fool all you like-you can’t pound out foolishness (Proverbs 27:22. MSG).” When we refuse to lean on the truth we are acting foolishly.

To trust the truth, we will have to endure the anxiety of giving up the familiar idols to gain the unknown help of God.

For example, God says he loves us. However, we have been trained to rely on peoples’ approval, meeting our standards, and achieving certain things to earn love. It is hard for us to reject this thinking in order to rely on the truth that God loves us period.

So, when we say, “The heck with it, I am going to depend on the fact that God loves me no matter what and not fear” we can become terrified because our old beliefs tell us otherwise.

But paraphrasing Luke 9:23, God says to us, “If you want to experience my love, you must quit relying on trying to earn my love, and learn to rely on my love as a gift as you depend on Me to make this truth real for you.”

Ask God to show you one truth that you know but are having trouble relying on it. Ask God to help you to believe that truth. “Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

 

Posted in Application | Leave a Comment »

Is Your Life Meaningful?

February 15, 2014 by journeyintolight

When I was twenty, I began the journey to find a meaningful life. The blueprint that I had been given for a meaningful life was to get a good education, get a good job, get married, have three kids, be involved in the community and then die.

But I thought that this was a meaningless life.

I thought that there had to be more. There had to be more than just perpetuating the specie.

But a meaningful life is hard to find. Or is it?

The wisest man who ever lived looked back on his life and declared it meaningless! He asked, “What does a man gain for all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, NIV).

He also declared that “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing” (Ecclesiastes 1:8).

So, what is a meaningful life? The dictionary defines a meaningful life as having significance, purpose and value. A meaningful life is not empty, pointless, or senseless. So, do you have a meaningful life?

You may say, “Sure, I have a meaningful life earning lots of money and enjoying the rewards of my work.” But do you? God says, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul” (Matthew 16:26, NIV).

You may say, “I have a meaningful life because I am a Christian and I will be going to heaven someday.” But do you? God says, “Each man’s work will become evident,…because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will be test the quality of each person’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:13). God is saying to us that only what we do in his will, in his power, and for his purposes will be rewarded in heaven.

I am often astonished at how little we settle for in life. My goodness, we only go around once- we have only one chance to get it right.

We are born with this sentence on our life; ”It is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Sounds kind of scary. What have we done to reverse this sentence?

King Solomon was the wise man that declared that his life had been largely meaningless. He concluded toward the end of his life that a meaningful life was to “fear God and keep his commandments, because this applies to every person. Because God will bring every act to judgment” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

God wants us to have a meaningful life. “I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10). He wants to lift us out of our frustrating and stressful grind to experience how important we are and how much he loves us (Isaiah 43:4). He wants to lift us “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

So, do you want a meaningful life?

Then, ask him to come into you life and be your Lord and Savior (John 1:12). If you do not know what this means, ask someone who does.

If you are already a Christian, do you want to live a meaningful life?

Then, may you gradually relinquish control of your life to God “who sees all [our] ways and numbers all [our] steps” (Job 31:4).

Don’t blow it. Live a meaningful life!

Posted in Lordship | 5 Comments »

Seeing God in All Things

February 6, 2014 by journeyintolight

My wife and I were talking yesterday about some blessings in our lives this week. I had graduated from cardiac rehab and she had recovered from a cold. Then, my wife asked me if I could see God’s hand in our blessings.

My first thought was, “What did God have to do with these blessings?” Then, I realized that he had everything to do with my recovery from major heart surgery and her quick recovery from a cold.

We often have a hard time seeing God in all things unless we think about it. We have been trained to do life without God- and that’s the way we like it a lot of the time.

But how often is God in our lives and we do not know it? How often do I say grace over my breakfast and wonder how God had anything to do with the food before me? And yet he has had everything to do with it. “It is [I] who is giving you power to make wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

God is all around us. “Where can I go from the Spirit? Where can I flee from [Your] presence?” (Psalm 139:7). He is everywhere and yet we often do not see the evidence that he is there. “Surely, the Lord is in this place and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).

Is it important to see God in all things?

Yes!

Many of us want to “practice the presence of God” more in our lives. Then, we need to grow in seeing God in all things. How can we do that unless we can see and hear God in the variety of ways he reveals himself throughout the day?

He reveals himself in a flowering peach tree, in our recovery from being sick, and in the love from family and friends. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

We need to see God in all things when we face our challenges. Ten spies saw the challenges. Caleb and Joshua saw God as they exhorted Israel to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 13).

A third reason why it is important to see God in all things is to feel safe. “Do not fear for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10). “[I will cause] all things to work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

And finally, for some reason when we see God in all things, we are not as likely to become corrupt. ‘“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt” (Psalm 14:1).

Knowing that God is there helps us to remember that he “will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

 

Posted in God's Presence | 2 Comments »

Do You Understand?

February 1, 2014 by journeyintolight

I spent 26 years trying to understand my world and how to live in it. I didn’t have much else to depend upon except my understanding. I did not have a relationship with God.

Even though I now have a relationship with God, I still have the habit of depending on my understanding.

So, it was natural for me to look to God four years ago to give me understanding of my future–to give me a five year plan after I graduated from seminary.

However, God refused to give me that understanding and instead challenged me to follow him step by step into my future. What? Not depend on my understanding? What? Live by reliance on God and his leading?

Why would God do such a thing to me? Why would he deny me understanding of my future?

Understanding is defined as comprehending, knowing, realizing, grasping and being aware of.

So, what is wrong with giving us understanding?

Nothing!

We should seek understanding from God. He commands it. “Acquire understanding!” (Proverbs 4:5). We are foolish if we don’t. “So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17).

Understanding God and his will helps us in many ways. We make wiser decisions, we understand that he will never reject us here or in heaven, we understand that we are very important and can do nothing to increase or decrease it, and we see God working in bad times as well as good times.

However, God often chooses to not give us understanding, at least not right away. It is like he says to us, “Wait for [Me]; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for [Me] (Psalm 27:14).

That wait may never result in our understanding why. Job never understood why God brought all the pain and suffering on him–but he grew in understanding of God’s greatness and his own smallness (Job 38-40).

God often chooses not to reveal things to us. “The secret things belong to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Why? Who knows?

Perhaps, he is saying to us, “Trust in [Me] with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge [Me], and [I] will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

He may want us to be more like Job who said, “Though He slay me, I will put my hope in Him” (Job 13:15).

We have to come to grips with the fact that God is infinite, and we are not.

“’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”’ (Isaiah 55:8-9).

But the good news is that we don’t have to completely understand our world and how to live in it to be safe. Instead, we have a Good Shepherd who completely understands everything and will shower our lives with his love and goodness (Psalm 23:6).

Posted in Faith | Leave a Comment »

Do You Hate Your Weaknesses?

January 24, 2014 by journeyintolight

I  have been trained to hate my weaknesses. One of them is White Coat Syndrome. This means that my blood pressure soars when I get it read in a doctor’s office. Yet, when I take it at home it is normal.

How scary and how embarrassing it is when the nurses and doctors express their alarm to me, though I know their concern is bogus. I really don’t have the problem that they think I have.

Nevertheless, I am taking several steps to try to rid myself of this weakness. Yet, I wonder if this will be my “thorn in the flesh” the rest of my life (2 Corinthians 12:7).

I was reading an article this week about a well-known pastor and his struggle with anxiety and depression. He has been fighting these afflictions for years and has come to the realization that God is using these weaknesses to do great things through his life. He concludes with the following statement: “And so I join Paul in boasting of my weakness, for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

So, does God allow us to have weaknesses in order to make us strong?

Yes!

God told Paul that he allowed a weakness in his life just to keep Paul from pride and trying to muscle his way through life in his own strength. God said to Paul, “[My] power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Paul was greatly used by God, but it wasn’t because he had no weaknesses. “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:3-4).

Thus, the blessing of our weaknesses is that they can motivate us to depend on God for the strength to do what only he can do. Otherwise, we may be suckered into making flesh our strength and turning away from dependence on God and his power (Jeremiah 17:5).

I have seen people that I thought were too strong in human strength. They did not have the natural weaknesses that so many of us have. Yet, their lives were shallow and they lacked supernatural strength.

So, how are we supposed to respond to our weaknesses? Just roll over and accept whatever hand we have been dealt?

No!

Like Paul, we need to seek God for his strength to overcome our weaknesses. “Concerning [my weakness], I entreated the Lord three times that [the weakness] would depart from me” (2 Corinthians 12:8).

Yet, sometimes God will say to us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness ” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Thus, he sometimes leaves human weaknesses in our lives so that we will become stronger supernaturally. We need to view our weaknesses as opportunities to be transformed by God’s strength.

May we become more like Paul who said, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

 

Posted in Faith | 2 Comments »

When Life Throws You a Curve

January 14, 2014 by journeyintolight

I was really bummed out yesterday when I heard the news. In some ways I was in shock. I couldn’t believe that my book publisher had gone out of business a few days ago taking $6,000 of mine without giving me anything in return.

Why did God lead me to the publisher anyway? Did I miss God’s will? What do I do next?

I soon did what I have slowly learned to do over the years- I took the confusing mess to God to help me sort out what my next step was.

So, why does life sometimes throw us curves?

One of the first things we need to realize is that God either caused or allowed it. “Whether for correction, or for His world, or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen” (Job 37:13).

It seems that God does not see the curve as a curve but part of his plan of bringing us into a more intimate love relationship with himself by transforming and empowering us. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). And “He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).

God also throws curves at us sometimes to check our hearts. He wants no person or project to be our first love. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).

Like Abraham was tested by God to see if he loved his only son more than he loved God, God sometimes tests our hearts to see if he is still Number One (Genesis 22).

So, what do we do with the curve that God throws our way?

One thing we can do is to ask God questions like, “What do you want me to do in this situation? What does it look like to be godly in this difficult circumstance?”

We may also ask him why this happened. But often he will not tell us for he wants us to learn to trust him even without understanding why something happened (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Another thing we can do is to face the curve squarely. We suffer when we choose to deny or run from the pain. We need to feel the full impact of the curve and seek God’s comfort and encouragement. “The Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

And finally we need to wait and listen for God’s response. “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).

We may continue on the path we have been on until we hear from him, but we are alert for his response, which can come to us in a variety of ways. Some of the ways include through his Word, through other believers, our thoughts, and circumstances.

So, what curve has been thrown at you? May I suggest that you take that curve to God today and ask him for understanding and wisdom in dealing with it.

 

 

 

Posted in Circumstances | 17 Comments »

Why Spiritual Disciplines Are Important

January 7, 2014 by journeyintolight

There seems to be confusion among some Christians regarding the purpose of spiritual disciplines. Should the disciplines of Bible studies, going on retreats, having quiet times and doing ministry be the focus of our Christian lives?

The answer is NO!

Disciplines are not to be the focus of our relationship with God. They are things we do to cooperate with God in living in an intimate love relationship with him.

However, they can become the center of our spiritual lives if we resist relying on the Spirit in practicing them.

As a young Christian, I believe that I did that to a large extent. I thought I was growing myself by memorizing Scripture, doing Bible studies and listening to good teaching.

But I learned over time that our practice of the disciplines only opens the door for God to work in our lives. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). Doing disciplines do not grow us; God does.

Yet, the disciplines are important for us to practice. The Holy Spirit is the one who grows us as we practice the disciplines that he leads us to do.

God is not going to do all the work. He wants us to take on his light yoke, which includes being obedient in practicing the disciplines that are tailored to our needs and capabilities (Matthew 11:28-30).

Spiritual disciplines train or retrain us. Any influence that forms habits into our spirits can be considered a spiritual discipline. So, disciplines go beyond doing Bible studies, listening to sermons, and praying.

They also include such activities as “putting off the old and putting on the new” (Ephesians 4:22-24), learning to rely on God’s love throughout the day, and learning to experience the presence of God more. “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

Practicing spiritual disciplines is not something we do without God. They are not a way to earn points with him. God has to act or we won’t understand the Bible, or have the power to live it.

Some Christians seem to think that all that we need to do is to know truth and then we will do truth.

But this is not the way to escape the inner corruption and bad habits that we all have. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).

Spiritual disciplines help us to be retrained in doing the truth that we know.

For example, I may know the truth that I need to love my wife as Christ loves the church. But I have come to realize that I do not have the power to always do it.

I need to practice the daily discipline of asking God to enable me throughout the day to see and do what it takes to truly love her. I can’t just stop at knowing what I am supposed to do. I need to practice the daily discipline of asking for help in order to love.

Disciplines are not ends in themselves, but are means to allow God free rein in our hearts- if that does not happen then practicing the disciplines is a man-centered effort and we will fail to grow.

I admit that practicing spiritual disciplines can be a tricky business. We can go to two extremes. We can put too much confidence in ourselves, or we can error by depending on knowing truth as the only thing necessary for living truth.

May God help us to find that healthy balance between relying on his gracious work in our lives and depending on practicing the disciplines to cooperate with him.

Posted in Spiritual Disciplines | 2 Comments »

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